Purchases, purchase commitments or other action pursuant to section 303 of the act are the most cost-effective, expedient and practical alternative method for meeting the need for this critical capability.

Donald Trump employs the U.S. Defense Production Act to support reliable supplies of rare earth elements...Read More

Over 50% of all steel, cement, nickel and copper goes there

China is building often, and it’s building higher. In fact, just last year, China completed 77 of the world’s 144 new supertall buildings, spread through 36 different Chinese cities. These are structures with a minimum height of 656 feet (200 metres).

For comparison’s sake, there are only 113 buildings in New York City’s current skyline that are over 600 feet.

Unbelievable scale

It’s always hard to put China’s size and scope in perspective—and Visual Capitalist has tried before by showing you 35 Chinese cities as big as countries, or highlighting the growing prominence of the domestic tech scene.

This chart also falls in that category and it focuses on the raw materials that are needed to make all this growth possible.

Year of data

Commodity

China’s % of global demand

Source

2017

Cement

59%

Statista

2016

Nickel

56%

Statista

2017

Coal

50%

NAB

2016

Copper

50%

Global X Funds

2017

Steel

50%

World Steel Association

2017

Aluminum

47%

MC Group

2016

Pork

47%

OECD

2017

Cotton

33%

USDA

2017

Rice

31%

Statista

2017

Gold

27%

China Gold Association, WGC

2017

Corn

23%

USDA

2016

Oil

14%

Enerdata

Note: Because this data is not all in one easy place, it is sourced from many different industry associations, banks and publications. Most of the data comes from 2017, but some is from 2016.

China demand > world

There are five particularly interesting commodity categories here—and in all of them, China’s demand equals or exceeds that of the rest of the world combined.

Cement: 59%The primary ingredient in concrete is needed for roads, buildings, engineering structures (bridges, dams, etc.), foundations and in making joints for drains and pipes.

Nickel: 57%Nickel’s primary use is in making stainless steel, which is corrosion-resistant. It also gets used in superalloys, batteries and an array of other uses.

Steel: 50%Steel is used for pretty much everything, but demand is primarily driven by the construction, machinery and automotive sectors.

Copper: 50%Copper is one of the metals driving the green revolution and it’s used in electronics, wiring, construction, machinery and automotive sectors primarily.

Coal: 50%China’s winding down coal usage—but when you have 1.4 billion people demanding power, it has to be done with that in mind. China has already hit peak coal, but the fossil fuel does still account for 65% of the country’s power generated by source.